Bible Reading Plan

Matthew 8

Chapter 8

A Man Cleansed

¹ When He came down from the mountain, large crowds^(a) followed Him. ² Right away^(b) a man with a serious skin disease came up and knelt before Him,^(c) saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

³ Reaching out His hand He touched him, saying, "I am willing; be made clean." Immediately his disease was healed.^{[a] 4} Then Jesus told him, "See that you don't tell anyone;^(d) but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed, as a testimony to them." ^(e)

A Centurion's Faith

⁵ When He entered Capernaum,^(f) a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, ⁶ "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony!"

⁷ "I will come and heal him," He told him.

⁸ "Lord," the centurion replied, "I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be cured.^{(g) 9} For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command.^[b] I say to this one, ‘Go!' and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!' and he does it."

¹⁰ Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, "I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith! ¹¹ I tell you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.^{(h) 12} But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." ^{(i) 13} Then Jesus told the centurion, "Go. As you have believed,^(j) let it be done for you." And his servant was cured that very moment.^[c]

Healings at Capernaum

¹⁴ When Jesus went into Peter's house,^(k) He saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve Him. ¹⁶ When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. He drove out the spirits^(l) with a word and healed all who were sick,^{(m) 17} so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

Following Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw large crowds^[e](o) around Him, He gave the order to go to the other side of the sea.^{[f] 19} A scribe approached Him and said,^(p) "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!"

²⁰ Jesus told him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man^(q) has no place to lay His head."

²¹ "Lord," another of His disciples said, "first let me go bury my father."^[g]

²² But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Wind and Wave Obey the Master

²³ As He got into the^[h] boat,^(r) His disciples^(s) followed Him. ²⁴ Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But He was sleeping. ²⁵ So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to die!"

²⁶ But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, you of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea.^(t) And there was a great calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this?—even the winds and the sea obey^(u) Him!"

Demons Driven Out by the Master

²⁸ When He had come to the other side,^(v) to the region of the Gadarenes,^[i] two demon-possessed men met Him as they came out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ Suddenly they shouted, "What do You have to do with us,^[j][k] Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"^(w)

³⁰ Now a long way off from them, a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ "If You drive us out," the demons begged Him, "send us into the herd of pigs."

³² "Go!" He told them. So when they had come out, they entered the pigs. And suddenly the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. ³³ Then the men who tended them fled. They went into the city and reported everything—especially what had happened to those who were demon-possessed. ³⁴ At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.^(x)